Public meetings over Rother Valley theme park plan

Members of the public are being given their chance to have their says on plans for a giant new theme park near Rother Valley.

Gulliver’s Family Theme Parks hope to turn the former Pithouse West opencast colliery site into a giant new theme park after agreeing to buy the 333-acre site from Rotherham Council.

Julie Dalton from Gulliver's

Planning permission is yet to be granted and a series of consultation events will take place next week to gauge the views of the public.

Julie Dalton, whose father Ray Phillips founded Gulliver’s, said: “Our Rother Valley development, which we’ve named Gulliver’s Valley, will be our most ambitious project so far, bringing together on one site all the best elements of our existing three theme parks at Matlock Bath, Warrington and Milton Keynes.

“As well as the theme park hub, aimed at children aged two to 13 and their families, we want to develop the rest of the site to create a ‘whole park feel’, with nature trails, walks, outdoor gyms and woodland runs which can be used by our guests and the local community alike.

“We’re excited about our own ideas, which we’ll be able to outline at these public consultation events.

A Gulliver's hotel

“But what we really want to do at this stage is get a feel for what local people would like to see and how we can incorporate their needs into the project.

“We’re really hoping as many people as possible will come along, meet the team and get a feel for what we’re hoping to achieve with Gulliver’s Valley.

“We won’t be able to answer every question in detail at this stage, but we’ll do our best to address any concerns, and most of all we want to hear what you have to say.”